2 eggs, beaten up with a little cream, previously boiled, and added at the moment of serving, much improves this soup.[Illustration: SAGO PALM.]
SAGO.--The farinaceous food of this name constitutes the pith of the SAGO tree (the Sagus farinifera of Linnaeus), which grows
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spontaneously in the East Indies and in the archipelago of the Indian Ocean. There it forms the principal farinaceous diet of the inhabitants. In order to procure it, the tree is felled and sawn in pieces. The pith is then taken out, and put in receptacles of cold water, where it is stirred until the flour separates from the filaments, and sinks to the bottom, where it is suffered to remain until the water
is poured off, when it is taken out and spread on wicker frames to dry. To give it the round granular form in which we find it come to this country, it is passed through a colander, then rubbed into little balls, and dried. The tree is not fit for felling until it has attained
a growth of seven years, when a single trunk will yield 600 lbs. weight; and, as an acre of ground will grow 430 of these trees, a large return of flour is the result. The best quality has a slightly reddish hue, and easily dissolves to a jelly, in hot water. As a restorative diet, it is much used.
SEMOLINA SOUP.
153. INGREDIENTS.--5 oz. of semolina, 2 quarts of boiling stock, No. 105, or 106.
Mode.--Drop the semolina into the boiling stock, and keep stirring, to prevent its burning. Simmer gently for half an hour, and serve.
Time.--1/2 an hour. Average cost, 10d. per quart, or 4d. Seasonable all the year.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
SEMOLINA.--This is the heart of the grano duro wheat of Italy, which is imported for the purpose of making the best vermicelli. It has a coarse appearance, and may be purchased at the Italian warehouses. It is also called soojee; and semoletta is another name for a finer sort.
SOUP A LA SOLFERINO (Sardinian Recipe).
154. INGREDIENTS.--4 eggs, 1/2 pint of cream, 2 oz. of fresh butter, salt and pepper to taste, a little flour to thicken, 2 quarts of
bouillon, No. 105.
Mode.--Beat the eggs, put them into a stewpan, and add the cream, butter, and seasoning; stir in as much flour as will bring it to the consistency of dough; make it into balls, either round or egg-shaped, and fry them in butter; put them in the tureen, and pour the boiling bouillon over them.
Time.--1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 3d. per quart. Seasonable all the year.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
Note.--This recipe was communicated to the Editress by an English gentleman, who was present at the battle of Solferino, on June
24, 1859, and who was requested by some of Victor Emmanuel's troops, on the day before the battle, to partake of a portion of their potage. He willingly enough consented, and found that these clever campaigners had made a most palatable dish from very easily-procured materials. In sending the recipe for insertion in this work, he has, however, Anglicised, and somewhat, he thinks, improved it.
SPINACH SOUP (French Recipe).
155. INGREDIENTS.--As much spinach as, when boiled, will half fill a vegetable-dish, 2 quarts of very clear medium stock, No.
105.
Mode.--Make the cooked spinach into balls the size of an egg, and slip them into the soup-tureen. This is a very elegant soup, the green of the spinach forming a pretty contrast to the brown gravy.
Time.--1 hour. Average cost,1s. per quart.
Seasonable from October to June.
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[Illustration: SPINACH.]
SPINACH.--This plant was unknown by the ancients, although it was cultivated in the monastic gardens of the continent in the middle of the 14th century. Some say, that it was originally brought from Spain; but there is a wild species growing in England, and cultivated in Lincolnshire, in preference to the other. There are three varieties in use; the round-leaved, the triangular-leaved, and Flanders spinach, known by its large leaves. They all form a useful ingredient in soup; but the leaves are sometimes boiled alone, mashed, and eaten as greens.
TAPIOCA SOUP.
156. INGREDIENTS.--5 oz. of tapioca, 2 quarts of stock No. 105 or 106.
Mode.--Put the tapioca into cold stock, and bring it gradually to a boil. Simmer gently till tender, and serve. Time.--Rather more than 1 hour. Average cost. 1s. or 6d. per quart.
Seasonable all the year.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
TAPIOCA.--This excellent farinaceous food is the produce of the pith of the cassava-tree, and is made in the East Indies, and also in Brazil. It is, by washing, procured as a starch from the tree, then dried, either in the sun or on plates of hot iron, and afterwards broken into grains, in which form it is imported into this country. Its nutritive properties are large, and as a food for persons of delicate digestion, or for children, it is in great estimation. "No amylaceous substance," says Dr. Christison, "is so much relished by infants about the time of weaning; and in them it is less apt to become sour during digestion than any other farinaceous food, even arrowroot not excepted."
TURNIP SOUP.
157. INGREDIENTS.--3 oz. of butter, 9 good-sized turnips, 4 onions, 2 quarts of stock No. 106, seasoning to taste.
Mode.--Melt the butter in the stewpan, but do not let it boil; wash, drain, and slice the turnips and onions very thin; put them in the butter, with a teacupful of stock, and stew very gently for an hour. Then add the remainder of the stock, and simmer another hour. Rub it through a tammy, put it back into the stewpan, but do not let it boil. Serve very hot.
Time.--2-1/2 hours. Average cost, 8d. per quart. Seasonable from October to March.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
Note.--By adding a little cream, this soup will be much improved. [Illustration: TURNIP.]
THE TURNIP.--Although turnips grow wild in England, they are not the original of the cultivated vegetable made use of in this country. In ancient times they were grown for cattle by the Romans, and in Germany and the Low Countries they have from time immemorial been raised for the same purpose. In their cultivated state, they are generally supposed to have been introduced to England from Hanover, in the time of George I.; but this has been doubted, as George II. caused a description of the Norfolk system
to be sent to his Hanoverian subjects, for their enlightenment in the art of turnip culture. As a culinary vegetable, it is excellent, whether eaten alone, mashed, or mixed with soups und stews. Its nutritious matter, however, is small, being only 42 parts in 1,000.
VEGETABLE-MARROW SOUP.
158. INGREDIENTS.--4 young vegetable marrows, or more, if very small, 1/2 pint of cream, salt and white pepper to taste, 2 quarts of white stock, No. 107.
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Mode.--Pare and slice the marrows, and put them in the stock boiling. When done almost to a mash, press them through a sieve, and at the moment of serving, add the boiling cream and
